1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shoulder or hand carried bag style containers. More particularly, it relates to backpacks and handbags with a bullet resistant side and deployable panels which are also bullet-resistant to increase the coverage area afforded the user trying to protect themselves from possible harm from bullets or other high velocity projectiles which might be directed toward the user.
2. Prior Art
It is a sad state in current society that crimes committed by persons with guns are continually high in volume of occurrence. Police officers and members of the military have long been the victims of the occupational hazard of gunfire directed toward them during work or duty. From this constant danger to life and limb from the risk of gunshot wounds came the bullet resistant vest which is conventionally worn on the user's body from shoulder to waist. Such devices, when used to deter weapon fire of a caliber from which they are designed to protect, work quite well in preventing a high velocity bullet or shell from penetrating the wearer's body.
However one new risk to human life and health has occurred in venues where the risk of death or injury from bullet wounds was never intended to be a risk. In recent years, students attending colleges, high schools, and junior high, have suddenly come under fire from attackers carrying and discharging firearms on school grounds.
Considering the number of schools in the United States, it might seem statistically rare that a student would risk life and limb while attending school from a potential gunshot wound. However, just like an airplane crash is statistically rare, when it does happen, a victim needs all of the protection available against the threat to increase the chances of surviving the event.
Bullet resistant vests worn by the military and police officers offer good protection of the upper body but are not practical for students to wear to school. They are hot, unfashionable, constraining, and considering the statistical risk of harm from a gunshot wound at school, probably more of an irritant than they are worth. Further, wearing of such devices may be prohibited under some school district rules or state laws.
As is obvious, the current escalation in school violence and street violence encountered by students on the way home does warrant some form of protection that is readily available to the student should the need arise. Such protection should not cause the physical discomfort of currently manufactured vests and body armor and should be discreetly deployable if the need arises. Such a device should also offer options in the area of coverage when deployed and additionally offer protection in relation to the threat.
Further, such a device should not just be discretely available to students, but should also be deployable to homemakers, and working men and women who might feel the need to afford themselves protection against the risk of gunshot injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,245 (Arakai) teaches a backpack carrier and shield combination. However, Arakai requires a metal frame which is stiff and impractical to wear and offers no option to the wearer for enlargement of the protected area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,467 (Berkovitz) teaches a body protection system using glass fibers or ballistic nylon to protect the user. However, Berkovitz, much like other art in this area, teaches no optional enlargement of the protection area nor the ability to wear the device in a removable backpack or purse in a discrete fashion.
Other art in the bullet or ballistic projectile area is similar in fashion and fails to teach or claim a discrete, easily removable, and easily enlargeable bullet or shrapnel protection system.
As such, there exists a need for an easily and inexpensively manufactured apparatus which can be easily carried by a user in normal daily activities. The device should be discrete, yet readily deployable by the user to protect against an actual or potential threat of severe injury from gunshot wounds. The device should also offer varying degrees of increasing protection or upgrade ability should the user determine that more protection is needed in their environment at work, school, or home.